Broadway to dim its lights for Paul Newman

<p>Paul Newman is all smiles during an appearance on "The Tonight Show," hosted by Jay Leno at NBC Studios in Burbank, California April 8, 2005.Jim Ruymen</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Broadway theaters will dim their lights on Friday to honor the late Paul Newman, who first set foot on a Broadway stage in 1953.

The legendary film star, whose brilliant blue eyes, good looks, cool style and talent made him one of Hollywood's top actors over six decades, died of cancer last week at age 83.

The Broadway League said the marquees of the New York theaters that line the streets fanning off Broadway and Times Square would be dimmed for one minute at 8 p.m.(midnight GMT) on Friday.

Best known for films like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Newman was also an accomplished stage actor who trod the boards on Broadway many times over the years.

He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in the original New York production of William Inge's "Picnic," in which he met and fell in love with his future wife, Joanne Woodward, the League said. In 2003 he was nominated for a Tony award for his role in the Broadway production of "Our Town."

"The Broadway community mourns the loss of Paul Newman, the universally admired stage and screen actor, director, and philanthropist," the League said in a statement.